“What makes it special is who you share it with, who you spend time with while eating it,” said Jennifer Burton, co-owner of Milk and Honey Bakery, Venue and Bistro.

Leray Scifres, owner of The Flour Shop Bakery at 421 Pine St., has childhood memories of heart-shaped boxes of chocolate on Valentine’s Day. But, there was always the risk of an unliked filling inside a piece of chocolate. He now specializes in desserts that are sure to satiate without a disappointing surprise inside.

Bakers who make tiered wedding cakes to feed hundreds of reception guests also craft perfect indulgences for two on Valentine’s Day. It’s an ideal option for those who desire a moment of dessert without the whole cake tempting them the rest of the week.

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Examples of desserts just for two available at Milk and Honey Bakery, Venue and Bistro.(Photo: Laura Gutschke/Reporter-News)

At Milk and Honey, the Chocolate Mocha Mousse Entremet is just large enough to entice two with multiple layers of flavor. The orange-sized dessert is a triple treat of chocolate: cake with mousse inside and decadent ganache glazed on top. A Rose and White Chocolate Entremet will be one of the featured desserts for the reservation-only Valentine’s Day dinners on Saturday and Valentine’s Day.

Among the other sweets-for-two in the cases for pick up at Milk and Honey will be a puffed pastry stuffed with white chocolate mousse. It is a subtler scratch of the chocolate itch.

Some bakeries also will offer miniature versions of their signature cakes, such as the Peanut Butter Reese’s Cake at The Flour Shop Bakery.

“That’s always a popular item with both men and women,” Scrifes said.

He also will have on hand other miniature cakes, including some adorned with chocolate-covered strawberries. Those dressed-up berries also will be available for purchase on their own.

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Kelli Fossi of Sugar Mama's Abilene serves Cris Copeland a slice of "snake," or red velvet bundt cakes decorated to look like them. Saturday was the Chocolate Safari at the Abilene Zoo Feb. 3, 2018. Guests sampled chocolate treats from around the city to help support the zoo's conservation efforts.(Photo: Ronald W. Erdrich/Reporter-News)

The petit fours – French for “tiny pastries” – at McKay’s Bakery are also the right size for two to share a few sweet bites without the guilt. The bakery’s version consists of soft white cake squares or hearts covered with crisp sweet roll icing. They spell them petit fors, and they are a Texas interpretation of tiny.

McKay’s also sells whimsical miniature desserts for those who like a little humor in their love life. They include a green frog built of icing around a cupcake, a tip to the lovelorn who have had to kiss a lot of toads to find Prince Charming. There also are similar-sized desserts with love bugs and honey bees – for “Be Mine” – as well as cake balls and strawberries jacketed in a tuxedo made of white and dark chocolate.

And, if you want to inspire some hand holding, give a baked hand pie from Caitie Pies, a new venture from chef Caitlin Wallace available at Cordell’s, 6410 Buffalo Gap Rd., Suite B. For Wallace, a pie evokes sentimental memories of her grandmother baking love into apple pies made from scratch.

“I’d take a pie over a cake any day,” Wallace said. “I think of grandma making them. It gives that warm feeling inside.”

Feel a little less guilty with these pies, both because of their size and contents.

“In the realm of pie, these are the healthiest because these are baked and use fresh fruit,” Wallace said.

Using fruit in season means it is naturally sweet and requires less sugar, she said.

But be warned, there is a lot of butter in that flaky crust. Wallace has reworked her grandmother’s original crust to create a pastry that can be picked up by hand. When reheated in a toaster or regular oven, it remains flaky and slightly crusty to keep its body.

Wallace tries to have four flavors available each week, with apple a regular because of the year-round availability of that fruit. Past seasonal options since Caitie Pies opened last fall include pear and fig, blackberry, coconut blueberry, pumpkin and cherry.

“Cherry Lime was one of our best sellers,” Wallace said.

Bakeries also will have available chocolate-covered strawberries, heart-shaped iced cookies, large slices of decadent specialty cakes and cheesecakes and much more to tickle taste buds and spark talk of love.

But love favors those who are bold, so plan ahead and custom order to ensure you have the splendid sweet for the occasion. Otherwise, you may end up being discarded like a forgotten crumb in the bottom of the cake box.

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Sweets for two are a perfect idea for Valentine's Day. Our feature story on Wednesday will include many options, including apple-filled hand pies from Caitie Pies cool on Monday, Jan. 15, 2018.
Laura Gutschke/Reporter-News

Caitlin Wallace pours blueberries in a pot while watching flaked coconut toast in a skillet for a coconut-blueberry hand pie on Monday, January 15, 2018. Her Caitie Pies hand pies are available at Cordell's.
Laura Gutschke/Reporter-News